Democratic Republic of the Congo - Emergency Equity and System Strengthening in Education Project : Additional Financing

Overview & Synopsis

The development objective of the Emergency Equity and System Strengthening in Education for Democratic Republic of the Congo is to lower the burden of school fees on households and increase access to primary schooling in the selected provinces, and to strengthen core education systems. Building on strong progress and verified results under the parent project, the additional financing is proposed to sustain, consolidate, and scale up the free primary education reforms nationwide, complete pending verifications, and embed institutional capacities for long-term sustainability in a fragile context. The Bank will expand equitable, formula-based school operating grants to sixteen additional provinces; extend and verify merit-based recruitment for new primary teachers and school directors so that at least seventy five percent of hires in each new province are selected on merit; and deepen safe and inclusive school environments by rolling out a revised Code of Conduct for all teachers and directors, appointing school-level focal points, strengthening prevention and response to sexual exploitation and abuse/sexual harassment, and operationalizing the Allo-Ecole Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) across all provinces. The operation will further strengthen core systems through nationwide reinforcement of the Education Management Information System (EMIS), including decentralized data collection, publication of timely statistical yearbooks, and an internship program for statisticians and information technology specialists; improved human resource management and payroll controls; and enhanced public financial management and budget transparency at central and provincial levels. Citizen engagement and behavior change activities will be scaled up, including a satisfaction survey and community communications, and a new online training platform will certify civil servants, educators, and partners in violence prevention and psychosocial support. While the project does not finance civil works, it will help schools use operating grants and planning tools to improve climate resilience and inclusion, including measures that support continued learning during shocks. The project intends to maintain reduced household fee burdens, enroll about one million additional students during the additional financing period, ensure that reliable education data are regularly disclosed nationwide, deliver equitable grants to all public primary schools in the new provinces, and strengthen grievance handling and accountability to protect children and improve school governance.